Metal foil type strain gauge and method of making same



Dec. 28, 1948. w. D. VAN DYKE Err A1. 2,457,616

METAL FOIL TYPE STRAIN GAUGE AND METHOD `OF MAKING SAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 16, 1946 Dec. 28, 1948.

METAL FOIL FiledUuly 16. 1946 w. D. VANl DYKE ET AL 2,457,616

TYPE STRAIN GAUGE'ANDl METHOD OF MAKING SAME 2 vSheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. M11/4M 5w yf Y ,an 4 AWA/As' yPatented Dec. 28, 1948- UNITED STATES PATENT GFFICE FOIL TYPE STRAIN GAUGE AND METHOD F MAKING SAME William D. van Dyke. Tarzana, and Paul A. Den'- nis, Manha ttan Beach, Calif., mignon to goluuglas Aircraft Company, Ine., Santa Monica,

application July is, me, semi No. essais (ci. coi-ss) 1s claim. l

invention relates lto measuring instruments and more particularly to a gauge for measuring the strain effects in elements or parte subjected to forces Atending to produce strain therein.

The gauge of the present invention comprises, in the broadest aspects thereof, a. resistance element to be mounted to the member subjected to ing member a grid of very small gauge resistance v wire. uThe resistance wire after it was formed or wound into the grid was cemented to the backing member by some suitable adhesive to the end that stresses exerted on the backing member would be transmitted through the adhesive to the wire. These previously proposed instruments `were diillcult to fabricate for the fine resistance wire used to form the grid was difdcult to handle and could be easily damaged during the grid-forming operation as well as during the operation of cementing the grid to the backing member. These inherent defects complicatedthe fabrication of the prior instruments and increased the manufacturing cost thereof.

The present invention obviates these difficulties for the resistance element of the gauge is'formed by removing elongate portions from a thin sheet of conducting material to form an elongate path of resistance having a substantially zigzag course. The portions of lthe sheet removed may be cut therefrom lby a stamping operation lthrough the use of a suitable die.V The forming operation is. therefore, relatively'simple and as the gauges can Ibe mass produced the actual manufacturing cost of the same is relatively low as compared to the vcostoffor-minglthe previously proposed instruments wherein the gridsis made up of a fine re- ".sistancewire. v

the one form of the invention herein illus- :tratedthe grid or resistance element is formed byn removing material of the desired shape from individual or' lseparate sheets of material. In

this fornrof'the invention the resistance element .mjayl--bevlformed with enlarged terminal portions to which lthe leads may be soldered or otherwise electrically connected.

In another embodiment of the method herein described the resistance element isproduced by forming a plurality of substantially parallel slots alternately opening on opposite edges ofa thin 'sheet of conducting material. The portion of -the sheet remaining after the forming operation has a substantially zigzag shape and forms the elongate path of resistance.

Another method of forming the resistance ele-l A ment comprises forming a plurality of rows of substantially parallel overlapping slots in a band of conducting material. The band may thereafter be transversely severed to forma plurality of re- Sistance elements having an elongate path of resistance with a substantially zigzag course. The band may be stored in roll form and individual resistance elements severed from the band as required.

The resistance elements for-med by the stamping operations in any of the above described forms of the method of the present invention are selfsupporting and therefore need not be mounted to a backing or supporting member. In one embodiment of the present invention, however, the thin zigzag strip of material, after suitable lead wires l are attached to the opposite ends thereof, has apjplied to at least one face thereof some suitable insulating material which not only reinforces the element but also forms an inter-mediate layer for insulating the resistance element from the part to be tested when the gauge is mounted thereon.

The resistance element need not be coated with the insulating material for the element can be insulated from the test part when the gauge is mounted o n the same. In this use of the gauge the resistance element maybe secured tothe test part by a material which also servesto insulate the resistance element from the part undergoing test. The material may if desired be one which has a melting temperature in excess of the temperature to be attained by the testpart so that the resistance element may -be insulatedly bonded to the test part by melting the material while the sameis in contact with the part as well as the element.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following de- .scription of the present invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which: Figure l is a perspective view of one form of the gauge of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a sectional view of another form of annoio the gauge in which the resistance element of the gauge shown in Figure i is used;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of another form of the gauge of the presentl invention showing a step in the manufacture thereof;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of another form of the gauge of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a sectional view showing the form of the gauge illustrated in Figure 4 mounted on the test part; and

Figure 6 is another view in perspective showing a still further mcdied form of the gauge.

The gauge oi the present invention, referring now to the embodiment oi the invention shown in Figure l, comprises a bodT member lil formed of some ro'iiducting material the resistance of which vail-s accordance with changes in the strain therein. The body or resistance member ci the gauge is formed by removing elongate strips from o. sheet to form, as shown, a plurality e.

of subst-ri. .illy parallel slots ll. ".lhe portion of the sheet remaining provides an elongate path of resistance having a substantially alguno course.

The portions of the slim, may removed therefrom by any means desired, although it has been found that these portions may be easily punched from the sheet by u suitably shaped die. The punching operation is relatively and the resistance elements can thus be produced at a relatively low cost.

In the embodiment of the gauge shown in Fie ure 1, the opposite ends oi' the resistance are formed with enlarged terminal portions iii to which the bared ends of suitable lead wires lil may be attached.

The gauge thus formed is self-supportlng and can be used without any backing material such as is now used with the type of resistance gauge having a grid formed of extremely fine resistance wires.

The gauge, when mounted to the part undergoing tests, must be electrically insulated from the part so that the gauge can be adhesively bonded to the test part by e. material which also insulates the resistance element from the test part. Where the test part is heated to relatively high temperatures in use, the material used may be similar to that used to mount the gauge shown in the co-pcnding application Serial No. 607,032 of William D. Van Dyke. The materials there used are of the types generally designated by the terms ceramic and vitric, which terms cover in the broadest sense materials capable of being fused or cured at elevated temperatures. Examples of such materials are vitreous enamels, vitreous cements, powdered glass compositions, certain clays, or similar frits or frit-like materials. For the purpose of clarity, the material used to mount the gauge shown by Figure 1 of the drawing will be hereinafter designated as a frit.

Where a irit is used the gauge of Figure 1 may be mounted to the test part as shown in Figure 5. To thus mount the gauge a mass H of the frit ls placed on the tec part l5 after which the same can be hez-itedl by projecting a flame theres3 against to cause the i'rit to become molten. The gauge is then placed upon the mass or layer of molten irit and the frit allowed to cool and harden. ilare should be taken to insure that the resistance element is separated from the test part by a layer of the irit as the grid must be insulated from the test part. Ifdesired, an additional amount of the frit may be deposited over the resistance element and this frit melted to cause the same to flow about and completely cover the element.

Where the gauge is mounted to the test part by a irit which must be heated to a relatively high temperatureythe leads '.175 cannot be soidered to the body of the gaige as the soldered connection obviously' would beY destroyed during the operation of melting the frit. In such use of the gauge the hared ends of the leads i3 could be spot welded to the resistance element.

'Where the test part is not heated ln use any suitable adhesive material can be used to bond the resistance element to the test part. To cihviate the use oi" some separate insulating material the adhesive should be one which will also insulote the resistance element from the test part.

Although the sauge illustrated in Figure l is selieuupportlnd and need not be rciniorced by n. bacliin: member, may be desired to coat the resistance element with some insulation material which will also protect the gauge during storage and handling; Eiuch a gauge is shown in section in Figure .il wh ateo". by the reference character lll. solution material, El applied to the be of any thickness as iilni or coat of insulation material is th." s to insulate the resistance fr the test when the como@ thereto.

The insulation ine-ans used may comprise a re nous enamel auch as that sold under the trade name Formen or equivalent material rein the resistance element ls lnlih-e inelcinent lo mrt iii is mounted i whicl'i can be bolted or cured on the resistance element. The gauge need not bc coated with a. material which must be heated to set the same for, actually, any resinous material or the like carried in a vehicle which will air harden can be used to form the protecting insulating sheath.

The resistance element could be merely dipped into the material to form. the sheath after lead wires had been suitably secured to the resistance element. As the material used will tend to ad here to the defining edges of the slots formed during the punching operation and lll the slots, the coating material will also reinforce the resistance element.

Although the gauge illustrated in Figure 1 is preferably formed from an individual sheet of materiel, gauges may be formed, referring now lto Figure 3, by punching or otherwise removingaligned rows of substantially parallel overlapping slots il! in an elongate band of material Il. Individual gauges may be formed by transversely severing the band at spaced lines 20 of demarkation formed on the band either at the time the slots are punched therefrom or at some subsequent operation. In this form of the present-invention the band i9, after the slots have been deformed therein, maybe rolled and the band stored in this condition until gauges are required. As the thickness of the band I9 is of the order of l/lll of an inch thick, individual gauges may be severed from the band by an ordinary pair of scissors as shown in Figure 3.

lt will be seen, referring now to Figure il, that when the band is severed along the lines 2li s. gauge such as shown in the figure referred to results. This gauge, in the broadest aspect thereof, comprises a sheet 2l having the plurality of substantially parallel slots I8 alternately opening onto opposite edges of the sheet. After the individual gauge has been severed from the band, lead wires 22 are secured to the opposite ends of the substantially zigzag path of resistance formed. The gauge thus formed/ may be mounted to a test part in the same manner as earlier described in connection with the gauge shown in Figure 1.

If desired, referring now to Figure 6, the band 23 in which are formed the aligned rows of substantially parallel overlapping slots 2l maybe coated on the one surface thereof with some suitable backing material 25. Although the material 25 may consist of some suitable paper,

in the preferred form of the invention this material comprises some relatively pliant thermo` plastic material which can be softened and used to adhesively bond individual gauges to the test part. The material used preferably is one which will insulate the gauge from the test part when the same is mounted to the latter. This material 25, furthermore, should beone which will not chip or crack when the individual gauges are severed from the band as by cutting along the lines of demarkation 26.

The bond between the gauge of the' present invention in all embodiments thereof and the test part ls considerably better than the bond between the round resistance wire of prior gauges and the test part because of the relatively large flat area presented by the resistance element. This feature eliminates to a large extent slippage between the gauge and the test part heretofore experienced with the previously proposed gauges.

Although the now preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described herein it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited thereto for it is susceptible to changes in form and detail within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. 'An instrument of the type described comprising: a thin zigzag strip of material whose electrical resistance varies in accordance with changes of strain therein; lead wires electrically connected to the opposite ends of said strip; and

an insulating sheath of thermoplastic material completely encasing said strip.

2. An instrument of the type described comprising: a fiat, relatively thin strip of material whose electrical resistance varies in accordance with changes of strain therein, said strip having a width substantially greater than the thickness thereof and formed with a plurality'of reversely bent courses; lead wires electrically connected to the opposite ends of said strip; and an insulating sheath of thermoplastic material completely encasing said strip. l

3. A new article of manufacture comprising: an elongate band of conducting material whose -electricalrresistance varies in accordance with allel overlapping slots extending longitudinally of said band; and spaced transverse lines of demarkation formed on said band forming guide lines for separation of said band into elongate substantially zigzag paths of resistance.

5. A new article of manufacture comprising:

an elongate band of conducting material whose electrical resistance varies in accordance with the strain therein, said band being formed with a plurality of aligned rows of substantially parallel overlapping slots extending longitudinally of said band; spaced transverse lines .of demarkation formed on said band forming guidelines for separation of said band into elongate substantially zigzag paths of resistance; and a layer of flexible, insulating material carried by the one face of said band.

6. The method of forming an instrument of the type described comprising, the steps of: forming a substantially zigzag path of resistance by forming a plurality of slots alternately opening on opposite edges of a thin sheet of conducting material. the electrical resistance of .which varies 'in accordance with the strain therein; attaching lead wires to the opposite ends of said path; and thereafter encasing said sheet in an insulating sheath.

7. The method of forming an instrument of the type described comprising, the steps of removing elongate portions from a thin sheet of conducting material whose electrical resistance varies in accord-ance with the strain therein to form an elongate path of resistance having a substantially zigzag course; attaching lead Wires to the opposite ends4 of said course; and thereafter bonding to at least one face of said sheet a layer of insulating material.

8. The method of forming an instrument of the type described comprising the steps of: cutting from a thin sheet of conducting material conducting material the resistance of which varies in accordance with the strain therein a plurality of rows of substantially parallel over lapping slots; and thereafter rolling said band upon itself for ease of handling and storage.

10. The method of forming a new article of manufacture of the type described comprising the steps of: forming in an elongate band of conducting material the resistance of which varies in accordance with the strain therein a plurality of rows of substantially parallel overlapping slots; bonding to at least one face of said band a strip of an insulating material sutllciently flexible to permit said band to be formed into a roll; and thereafter rolling said band upon itself for ease vof' handling `and storage.

11. The method of forming a new article of manufacture of the type described comprising the steps of; forming in an elongate band of conducting material the resistance of which varies in accordance with the strain therein a plurality of rows of substantially parallel overlapping slots; forming spaced, transverse lines of demarkation on said band intermediate the adjacent ends of at least a portion of said slots; and thereafter rolling said band upon itself for ease of handling and storage.

12. A new article of manufacture, comprisenumera ing: an elongate bend conducting materiel whose electrical resist-ence verles in accordance with the :strain therein, :seid bend being formed with e. plurality of lines of elots extending lentiltudinally of 'the bend, lines being snarled transversely el the band end eech line compete-w ing a. plurality of aligned slots mutually spaced longitudinelllf,r et their longitudinally adjacent extremities, the slots in edincent lines being relativeiy staggered whereby' te enable the ndideent overlapping portions of trane'w'eieelr adjacent slots to del-lne, elternetel,r longiti ihttlly transversely ef the said bend, sirens extend ing in serpentine configuration transversely of said band.

i3. A new article of merlulucture, comprising: en elongate bond of conducting materiel the electrical resistance of wl li velr'iee in eee ance with the strain therein, seidl b ud f formed with u plurality ofi lines of slots eviter l ing lcngitudinelly of the henri, tile lines b spaced transversely of the be d ee comprising a plurality ol aligned slots spaced longitudineilly et their longitud jeeent extremities, the lenTituc i tween said longitudinally the slots of alternate linee slots tween seid alternate lines areas extending longitul of the bend, the trensvel periolete areas estribillo Je longitudinally :75l visually with the longitur of seid bend to ieri verse severance of seid lll elongate paths of resistance, e..cl1 having e. substantielly serpentine course All. A new article of manufacture, comprising: an elongate band lof conducting meteriel whose electrical resistance varies in accordance with the strain therein, said bond being formed with a plurality of lines of slots extending longitudinally of the band, the lines being spaced transversely of the band and each line comprising e plurality of aligned slots mutually spaced longitudinally at their longitudinally adjacent extremities, the slots ln adjacent lines being relatively staggered whereby to enable the adjacent overlapping porslots, mperierete ,y transversely tions of transversely adjacent slots to delirie alternately.longitudinally and trcnsveroely seid bend, solid areas extending in ser-ptr configuration transversely of seid bend; band of flexible insulating materiel of e. equal to the width of the band ci eondu materiel bonded the one luce of the letter.

iii. A net erticic; of manufacture. compr en' elongate bend el' cenfrlucting materiel the trical reslsl nee of which Accord with the stiui'ri thereon, wid bend being with :t plurality or lines of slots extending lr i tudineliy oi the bend, the lines being i transversely oi bend end each line co1 ing e plure-lity 'of eligned slots mutielly e; longitudinally their longitudinally nl alterni-ite linee of 'slots defining, between et l temete oi slots, relzfllflvelf,T smell im erees egteuding longitudinally end tre. Y' ofi the erede estublis lug relatively large, tr elongate mees longltutllnelljv tile lette' meer being tleu'ierlterl the sides ey everseiy eligned tremltlee of sold elle lines el siete 1 ions el' sting vieu/elly with tnportions of seid bernd on sever. nce regions sut transversely inte e. plurellty of gentille resistance-lamine,

WILLMM D. lll-'lli i" PAUL 1l. lllllliillF-l.

REFERENCES CMTEB The following references are of record the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name '.Dete

1,975,410 Simpson Oct. 2, lill-ifi 2,058,946 Becker Oct. 27, 2,102,302 Arnold l- Dec. i4, i133? 2,334,668 Conner Nov. le, 

